Today’s tickers: AET, MTG & GNTX
AET - Aetna Inc. – Shares in Aetna, up 25% since the end of July, tacked on 1.6% this morning to touch an intraday high of $44.23. Heavy call options activity on the stock today suggests some traders are positioning for shares in the health insurer to extend gains in the near term. Call options on AET are far more active than puts, with the call-to-put ratio topping 37-to-1 in early-afternoon trade. Much of the trading traffic in Aetna options today occurred at the Nov. $45 strike, where upwards of 10,000 calls changed hands against open interest of 2,200 contracts. It looks like most of the call options were purchased in the first hour of the trading session at a premium of $1.12 per contract. Traders long the $45 strike calls stand ready to profit at expiration next month should Aetna’s shares rally another 4.3% to top the breakeven price of $46.12. Bullish positioning also spread to the higher Nov. $46 strike, where it looks like some 620 calls were purchased for an average premium of $0.88 apiece. These contracts may be profitable come expiration given a 5% increase in the price of the underlying to $46.88. Aetna Inc. is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings prior to the open on Thursday.
MTG - MGIC Investment Corp. – Mortgage insurer, MGIC Investment Corp., was among the most active names by options volume this morning after one strategist initiated a sizable bull call spread in the January 2013 expiry options. Shares in MTG ticked higher earlier in the session, but currently trade flat on the day at $2.02 as of 11:45 a.m. ET, ahead of the company’s third-quarter earnings report due out after the closing bell. It looks like one trader purchased roughly 10,000 calls at the Jan. 2013 $2.5 strike for a premium of $0.38 apiece, and sold around the same number of calls at the higher Jan. 2013 $3.0…
